Despite protests and violence at his book signing last Saturday in Eason’s bookshop on O’Connell Street, Tony Blair has easily secured the number one position in Ireland this week.

Blair’s memoir, A Journey, sold some 2,774 copies, some 350 more than the next bestselling title, the state’s Mathematical Tables, which sold 2,417.

Blair’s book sold some 800 more copies than Sheila O’Flanagan’s Stand By Me – the bestselling fiction title of the week with 1,956 sales.

According to sources at Eason’s the book sold some 700 copies during Blair’s signing.

The book offers ‘a frank account of a life in politics’ according to Blair himself and reveals his real opinions on Gordon Brown.

It has sold 92,060 copies in its first four days on sale in the UK, according to The Bookseller.

Irish author, Emma Donoghue has made the Booker Prize shortlist with her book, Room.

Speaking about the announcement Sarah Bannan, Head of Literature at The Arts Council, said, ‘In Room, Emma Donoghue has created a gripping and haunting work of fiction, one which stays with the reader long after the last page. She brings life to an authentic and original voice, and her prose is beautifully crafted. A gifted writer truly dedicated to her art, it is a great pleasure to see the book recognised by the Booker judging panel.”

Fellow Irish writer Paul Murray, whose book Skippy Dies was on the longlist, has not been included.

Donoghue has garnered considerabel attention since her nomination for a book that was “triggered” by the Fritzl case.

Her sales have been significant in Ireland and although overshadowed by Christos Tsiolkas’ The Slap in the UK, she has sold well there.

Tsiolkas failed to make the shortlist.

The winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced on Tuesday 12 October at a dinner at London’s Guildhall.

The announcement will be broadcast on BBC News across television, radio and online.

The full short list is:
Peter Carey ~ Parrot and Olivier in America ~ Faber and Faber
Emma Donoghue ~ Room ~ Picador – Pan Macmillan
Damon Galgut ~ In a Strange Room ~ Atlantic Books – Grove Atlantic
Howard Jacobson ~ The Finkler Question ~ Bloomsbury
Andrea Levy ~ The Long Song ~ Headline Review – Headline Publishing Group
Tom McCarthy ~ C ~ Jonathan Cape – Random House

The Hughes & Hughes store in Dundalk, which was first opened in 2004, has reopened today creating eight jobs.

Derek Hughes, Managing Director, said, ‘To be re-opening our much acclaimed store in Dundalk is very gratifying and illustrates the long term confidence we have in Dundalk.  I am especially pleased for our Manager, Ellie Winters, and many of our staff, who will be rejoining us.’ He added that ‘Trading in our other five stores that have reopened has been very strong over the last three months and we are confident that Hughes & Hughes Dundalk will follow this trend.’

Ellie Winters, Hughes & Hughes Dundalk Manager said, ‘This is a great day for everyone in the Hughes & Hughes family and especially for people associated with the store here in Dundalk.  All eight of us are book enthusiasts and we are looking forward to sharing our knowledge and passion for books with our customers once again.’

The re-opened Dundalk store is still located at Clanbrassil Street, covers 3,200 sq ft and stocks 20,000 titles. The store offers a large young readers section including titles for pre-school age readers.

The new holding company that owns Hughes & Hughes, Sivota Limited, have now reopened six of the company’s former stores:
- Hughes & Hughes, St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, Dublin 2
- Hughes & Hughes, Pavillions Shopping Centre, Swords, Co. Dublin
- Hughes & Hughes, Omnipark, Santry, Dublin 9
- Hughes & Hughes, Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin 14
- Hughes & Hughes, Ennis, Co. Clare
- Hughes & Hughes, Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

UPDATE: CHENILE KEOGH from Merlin has contacted IPN to clarify the position of Wolfhound titles saying, ‘this situation does not effect the Wolfhound list, all the Wolfhound titles are still on sale and will be for the foreseeable future.’

In a statement to Irish Publishing News the company said that ‘Due to the very significant downturn in the book trade which has seriously affected the level of sales of books, the Directors of Merlin Books Limited (trading as Merlin Publishing under the Merlin imprint), have made the decision to cease its current publishing activities. As a consequence, Merlin Publishing will not be releasing any new titles for the foreseeable future.’

Gill & Macmillan Distribution, who had acted as the publishers distribution agents, announced that they had ceased ‘acting as distributor to Merlin Publishing with immediate effect.’ They further said that ‘All future orders, returns requests and queries should be addressed directly to Merlin Publishing.’

Primarily known for its true crime titles like, Paul William’s Crime Wars and Gangsters, Merlin also publishes the Wolfhound list which it acquired from that list’s founder Seamus Cashman in 2001.

It is unclear from Merlin’s statement how this move affects the remaining staff at the publisher.

In 2008, following concerns over material about Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) investigations contained in Paul Williams’ bestselling Crime Wars, Merlin was forced to withdraw the book from sale.

A finding of contempt followed and in January 2009 High Court judge, Mr Justice Brian McGovern imposed a fine of €5000 plus costs on the company.

Later that year Merlin was forced to lay off a number of editorial and marketing staff.

A rather excellent video featuring Jamie Byng, who’ll be appearing at Mountains To Sea in Dun Laoghaire in September

Upwardly mobile | moving in and what not
And he discusses new digs!
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Book Launch: Renegades: Irish Republican Women 1900-1922
Ann was on Pat Kenny yesterday, interesting book this one.
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Moving on
This really should be read, considered, parsed, filed and re-visited by publishers across the globe. It’s message, however unpalatable, is a vital one!
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Gollancz appoints Nash as digital publisher
On a very selfish level I admire Gollancz as a publisher, if only because they publish some of the finest sci-fi and fantasy.
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Miriam O’Callaghan and Mercier Press title
And why wouldn’t they? (I commissioned Moxie while working at Mercier Press)
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Sell, Socialise and Survive at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Good advice on Frankfurt. IPN will be there so don’t be afraid to send us your stories and releases!
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Edinburgh
Nice note on Edinburgh from Laura!
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Waterstone’s to open bar and restaurants
I think this makes sense, but don’t quote me on it!
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Samsung launches e-reader with W H Smith
When will the ebook and ereading bug bite home here? 
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PW Select: A Quarterly Service for Self-Published Authors to Launch in December
Publishers Weekly will launch a quarterly magazine in December focusing on announcements and reviews of self-published titles. However, listed self-published titles will come at a fee of $149 to the author and reviews will only be on selected titles.
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Publicity for Mercier Press titles
Three of Mercier Press titles were reviewed in national papers at the weekend.
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Reivew: Rules for a Perfect Life by Niamh Greene
IN Rules for a Perfect Life, each of the 27 chapters, like those in some self-help manuals, is headed by a maxim, which will, if followed, apparently change your life for the better.
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Tales of the Burren, and other places
A nice list of new local history titles
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Ireland’s desperadoes of the veld
Masked Raiders: Irish Banditry in Southern Africa, 1880-1899, By Charles van Onselen
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Book Club: Tenderwire by Claire Kilroy
An interesting move this!
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Review: Jumping in Puddles by Claire Allan
The Balamory lookalike seaside village of Rathinch may look postcard-perfect to summer visitors. But for locals who live there all year, it is a place of squinting windows, a hotbed of righteous gossip.
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John Blake has signed a deal with Prizeman & Kinsella client and Showbiz editor for Irish Sun newspaper, Jennifer O’Brien for an authorised biography of ‘Jedward’, John and Edward Grimes, the former x-factor contestents.

The journalist will have ‘full access to their manic schedule in the run up to the festive season’ according to her agent Yvonne Kinsella.

The book will trace their route from birth to superstardom with exclusive material featuring judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Danni Minogue.

According to Kinsella the book will help ‘us understand just what celebrity judge Louis Walsh saw in the two lads who got booed off the stage from day one, only to become overnight sensations securing advertising deals, a number one album in Ireland, their own fashion line, a single due for release in the UK and Ireland for Christmas and a panto role.’

The book will be released in time for christmas and will coincide with the duo’s tur which starts in November.

Two editorial staff will leave permanent positions with The History Press, Ireland following the company’s consultation process.

However, the two will work freelance for the company in a restructuring The History Press says is designed ‘to make sure it [The History Press, Ireland] will have a future.’

Publisher for the Irish imprint, Ronan Colgan, retains his position and will continue to commission titles.

Colgan said that the company was forced to make the changes because ‘sustaining the operation at the size it was at was just too difficult given the market conditions in Ireland.’

As part of the restructure The History Press Ireland’s sales rep has left the company and moved onto another role and will not be replaced. Instead, Gill & Macmillan will take over the sales operation for the company effective immediately.

Colgan expects the bulk of editorial work to be done in Ireland with most admin and design being handled by the offices in the UK.

The History Press Ireland was founded in October 2005 as Nonsuch Ireland, an imprint of Alan Sutton’s Nonsuch Publishing.

It operated briefly as an independent imprint under publisher Ronan Colgan when Sutton’s company underwent major restructuring and management changes in late 2007 early 2008 before returning to The History Press stable.

Dan Brown rules supreme this week but Penguin Ireland will be happy to have both Sinead Moriarty and Amy Huberman still in the top ten. Of course this is the aggregate Top Ten and that means that Moriarty retains her Number One position in the Original Fiction charts.

1 : The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown, 2,357
2 : Pieces of My Heart, Sinead Moriarty, 2,034
3 : The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, 1,869
4 : The Girl Who Played with Fire,</em> Stieg Larsson, 1,824
5 :  The Help, Kathryn Stockett, 1,632
6 : The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, Stieg Larsson, 1,558
7 : Mathematical Tables, , 1,427
8 : Room, Emma Donoghue, 1,410
9 : Swimsuit, James Patterson, 1,043
10 : Hello, Heartbreak, Amy Huberman, 951
Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 14th August 2010